93 4.9 Overheating HELP
09-21-2012, 10:23 PM
#12
Thanks everyone for the quick replies, luckily my insurance covered the tow so I got it home safely. I'll dive under the hood tomorrow and see if I can figure it out. Thanks again!
09-23-2012, 09:31 AM
#13
Quick question, since my radiator is a 2 core, do I need to drain my oil before unplugging all the lines? I got most of the hoses off but I dont wanna unscrew the other lines without being sure. Thanks
09-23-2012, 03:17 PM
#14
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Step 1, 2 and 3 (last is get $77 AAA 100 mile towing)
Sounds like a blown hose, a water pump failure would be slower overheat but could also cause the hose to over pressure and fail.
Step 1: Your truck has 4 easy to replace hoses. 2 radiator hoses which take 15-20 minutes. These are usually the first to fail.
Step 2: Check to see if any drips or seeps are running out of the water pump. Look at the mounting base (about as big around as coffee can), also look closely at the pulley shaft since the pump bearings may be leaking. If anything is leaking replace with a NEW water pump. About $47 at Autozone. You will need to borrow their fan pulley wrench because it's a very narrow space to unscrew the fan without f***-ing up the deal. Turn right to unscrew, opposite of normal lefty-righty.
Procedure
Estimated time to complete fix with new water pump is 1 hour non-stop. It's not hard. If only replacing hoses use #1,5
1. drain radiator, disconnect upper radiator hose (right) and lower (left)
2. unscrew two fan schroud bolts (usually 10mm or 7/16),
3. if automatic trans: unscrew two radiator transmission cooler lines on right side equal & below battery. small amount of auto trans fluid will run out.
4. unscrew two bolts holding radiator. located on top off to the sides L & R. (usually 10mm or 7/16). carefully lift out radiator by tilting slightly sideways. the bottom of radiator has two support legs jutting out sideways which may catch on something. be gentle or you will bend up the radiator core. Try not to scrape the sliver core on anything. It's not hard to do right.
5. remove 5/8" heater hoses. there are two running from the water pump to the passenger firewall. this is simple hose sold by the foot.
6. remove water pump by unscrewing four bolts. may need to tap gentle with soft mallet or wooden handle to loose gasket glue.
7. remove 4 bolts holding fan belt pulley to water pump.
8. using loaner fan pulley wrench, unscrew fan from water pump (turning right to loosen).
9. remount old fan on new pump, turning left to tighten.
10. clean off old gasket material on engine block where water pump mounts.
11. apply thin coat gasket glue, new gasket, mount NEW pump.
12. reverse the instructions for reassembly, starting with 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Parts list:
NEW water pump (all rebuilts are basic POS headaches sure to fail)
Loaner Fan pulley wrench
2 pre-bent radiator hoses (upper + lower)
small tube/jar of gasket compound
6-8 feet 5/8" or 3/4" heater hose sold by foot (replace size you have)
$5 new hose clamps are good idea
2 gallons straight antifreeze (undiluted, $9 @walmart, ask for price match)
Step 3: Call AAA to sign up for roadside assistance, Mention you just saw the ad on TV last night. Promo rate is $54 with 3 miles free towing. Ask for upgrades, let them sell you on AAA Plus with 100 mile towing. $77 and you get 4 service calls included, whether it's towing or bring gallon of gas. Stick to using the AAA service for towing like this. They can tow to a shop or to your house. I've used this several times. If challenged say your brother/friend is the mechanic and you get a fix for just cost of parts. Driver usually cooperates.
Good luck. When working on the old F150's keep in mind these were built by the commercial trucks division until 1997. Commercial division used loctite on anything with threads. Be careful but prepared to use loctite solvent or very careful over pressure when needed. Some set new difinition to "S.O.B."
Step 1: Your truck has 4 easy to replace hoses. 2 radiator hoses which take 15-20 minutes. These are usually the first to fail.
Step 2: Check to see if any drips or seeps are running out of the water pump. Look at the mounting base (about as big around as coffee can), also look closely at the pulley shaft since the pump bearings may be leaking. If anything is leaking replace with a NEW water pump. About $47 at Autozone. You will need to borrow their fan pulley wrench because it's a very narrow space to unscrew the fan without f***-ing up the deal. Turn right to unscrew, opposite of normal lefty-righty.
Procedure
Estimated time to complete fix with new water pump is 1 hour non-stop. It's not hard. If only replacing hoses use #1,5
1. drain radiator, disconnect upper radiator hose (right) and lower (left)
2. unscrew two fan schroud bolts (usually 10mm or 7/16),
3. if automatic trans: unscrew two radiator transmission cooler lines on right side equal & below battery. small amount of auto trans fluid will run out.
4. unscrew two bolts holding radiator. located on top off to the sides L & R. (usually 10mm or 7/16). carefully lift out radiator by tilting slightly sideways. the bottom of radiator has two support legs jutting out sideways which may catch on something. be gentle or you will bend up the radiator core. Try not to scrape the sliver core on anything. It's not hard to do right.
5. remove 5/8" heater hoses. there are two running from the water pump to the passenger firewall. this is simple hose sold by the foot.
6. remove water pump by unscrewing four bolts. may need to tap gentle with soft mallet or wooden handle to loose gasket glue.
7. remove 4 bolts holding fan belt pulley to water pump.
8. using loaner fan pulley wrench, unscrew fan from water pump (turning right to loosen).
9. remount old fan on new pump, turning left to tighten.
10. clean off old gasket material on engine block where water pump mounts.
11. apply thin coat gasket glue, new gasket, mount NEW pump.
12. reverse the instructions for reassembly, starting with 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Parts list:
NEW water pump (all rebuilts are basic POS headaches sure to fail)
Loaner Fan pulley wrench
2 pre-bent radiator hoses (upper + lower)
small tube/jar of gasket compound
6-8 feet 5/8" or 3/4" heater hose sold by foot (replace size you have)
$5 new hose clamps are good idea
2 gallons straight antifreeze (undiluted, $9 @walmart, ask for price match)
Step 3: Call AAA to sign up for roadside assistance, Mention you just saw the ad on TV last night. Promo rate is $54 with 3 miles free towing. Ask for upgrades, let them sell you on AAA Plus with 100 mile towing. $77 and you get 4 service calls included, whether it's towing or bring gallon of gas. Stick to using the AAA service for towing like this. They can tow to a shop or to your house. I've used this several times. If challenged say your brother/friend is the mechanic and you get a fix for just cost of parts. Driver usually cooperates.
Good luck. When working on the old F150's keep in mind these were built by the commercial trucks division until 1997. Commercial division used loctite on anything with threads. Be careful but prepared to use loctite solvent or very careful over pressure when needed. Some set new difinition to "S.O.B."
Last edited by davecannon; 09-23-2012 at 03:24 PM.
09-23-2012, 03:27 PM
#15
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Question need to drain engine oil
Other lines are either steel going to auto transmission or special oil cooler. You do not need to drain the engine oil if the lines run to the transmission.
09-23-2012, 03:48 PM
#16
Senior Member
Most likely it's a blown coolant hose.. Replace the hoses and fill it up with a 50/50 mix. Worst case it was caused by a blown head gasket that over pressurized the coolant system and blew a hose. Good luck.
09-23-2012, 04:41 PM
#17
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I figured out the problem. I have a 4 inch long crack in the side of the radiator. I already got a new one a pulled the old one out. My friend is letting me borrow his car while he's away so I think I'm going to replace 2 of the lines while I'm in there. Any tips for the metal lines?
09-23-2012, 04:57 PM
#18
The metal lines are most likely your transmission cooler lines.
Verify it .. but .. they're probably 3/8" steel tubing. It's the same stuff as they originally used for the brake lines but a different size.
It's not uncommon for them to rust out. A lot of times people cut out the bad section of tubing and use rubber hose instead. (You just have to make sure that you get the right hose for the job.) It's easier to work with.
Verify it .. but .. they're probably 3/8" steel tubing. It's the same stuff as they originally used for the brake lines but a different size.
It's not uncommon for them to rust out. A lot of times people cut out the bad section of tubing and use rubber hose instead. (You just have to make sure that you get the right hose for the job.) It's easier to work with.
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BuddhaBoy182 (09-23-2012)
09-24-2012, 02:49 PM
#20
Senior Member
It's transmission fluid. Generally there is no need to change it, just top it off. However if it hasn't been done this is a good opportunity for some preventative maintenance. Keep in mind, heat damages fluids so its not a bad idea. You will need to follow the trans fluid procedure, wich includes dropping the pan, draining the torque converter, and changing the filter and gasket. Now a bunch of people are about to say that you should never change the oil on an old transmission. The argument is that sediment is built up in the trans and holding parts together. If you ask me steel and aluminium connections cannot be reliably replaced with built up sediment. So basically if a transmission happens to fail after an oil change its likely that the trans was bad and about to quit anyway. Usually people change the fluid only because the trans is already not working anyway. My other advice is use a proper line wrench for those flare fittings. They are easy to round off and often over tightened.